SC magistrate slips into 'Heneral Luna' character in EDCA dissenting opinion

Supreme Court Associate Justice Marvic Leonen virtually slipped into the character of "Heneral Luna" in writing his dissenting opinion to the high court's ruling that the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement is "not constitutionally infirm."

Leonen opened his piece with a famous line from the film Heneral Luna: "Para kayong mga birhen na naniniwala sa pag-ibig ng isang puta!"

In the film, Heneral Luna delivered the line during an emergency cabinet meeting called by then President Emilio Aguinaldo.

As mentioned by Leonen in his dissenting opinion, Heneral Luna was reacting to Aguinaldo, Pedro Paterno and Felix Buencamino when they said that the Americans promised to respect the Philippines' independence.

Leonen said in his opinion that majority members of the SC who voted for the constitutionality of the EDCA "succeeded in amending" Article 18, Section 25 of the 1987 Constitution.

The provision reads: "After the expiration in 1991 of the Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the United State of America concerning Military Bases, foreign military bases, troops or facilities shall not be allowed in the Philippines except under a treaty duly concurred in by the Senate and, when the Congress so requires, ratified by a majority of the votes cast by the people in a national referendum held for that purpose, and recognized as a treaty by the other contracting State."

"In a disturbing turn of events, the majority of this court just succeeded in amending this constitutional provision. At the very least, it emasculated its text and weakened its spirit," Leonen said.

Ten members of the SC, including Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, who penned the ruling, voted for the constitutionality of the EDCA.

Leonen and three other associate justices -- Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, Arturo Brion and Estela Perlas-Bernabe-- dissented while Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza inhibited.

The SC ruling said the EDCA is "not constitutionally infirm."

"As an executive agreement, it remains consistent with existing laws and treaties that it purports to implement," the ruling said.

The tribunal disagreed with the Senate's position that the EDCA should have first been submitted to the Senate in the form of a treaty for concurrence by at least two-thirds of all its members.

Leonen insisted in his piece that the EDCA signed by Defense Secretary voltaire Gazmin and US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg is not binding unless concurred in by the Philippine Senate, as stated under Article 18, Section 25 and Article 7, Section 21 of the Constitution.

The associate justice is also of the opinion that the EDCA amended the  Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows US forces to conduct joint military exercises with Philippine troops within the country's territory.

"The EDCA substantially modified or amends the VFA," Leonen said, adding that "an executive agreement cannot amend a treaty."

Malacañang had insisted that the EDCA is an executive agreement.

In his opinion, Leonen cited five points that indicate the EDCA modified the VFA.

• EDCA does not only regulate the visits of US troops, it also allows the temporary stationing on a rotational basis of US military personnel and its contractors
• EDCA allows pre-positioning of military materiel, including warships, fighter planes, bombers and vessels
• EDCA allows the United States to use Philippine territories to launch military and paramilitary operations
• EDCA introduces concepts "not contemplated" in the VFA or the Mutual Defense Treaty: agreed locations, contractors, pre-positioning of military materiel and operational control
• Unlike the VFA, EDCA contains provisions that may affect various statutes including jurisdiction of courts, local autonomy and taxation

Read Leonen's dissenting opinion in full:

Full text

— ALG, GMA News